A group of paranormal investigators journeys into the Louisiana swamps to investigate a series of deaths among young women—each found drained of blood. Unbeknownst to them, they’re entering the territory of a sabbat-master. The question is whether anyone will survive. “The Witchmaker” (1969) belongs in the same category as films like "The City of the Dead” (1960), "Masque of the Red Death" (1964), "Devils of Darkness" (1965), and “The Witches” (1966), also known as “The Devil’s Own.” The latter film went further, showing a devilish ritual in a way that might seem silly or amusing to today's audiences. This one handles things better, with a surprisingly effective dark ceremony near the end—it feels like a pleasure-seeking Viking celebration more than anything else. I listed the release dates of those movies to illustrate how witch-themed films developed during the 1960s. “The Crimson Cult” from 1968 is another example, also called "Curse of the Crimson Altar." "Mark of the Witch" was released the year after this one, in 1970, followed by “The Brotherhood of Satan” and “Race With the Devil” in the early to mid-’70s. LQ Jones worked on both this film and “The Brotherhood of Satan,” appearing in both, though his role here is uncredited. Some might argue that I'm blurring the lines between witchcraft and satanism, but that’s something all these movies do; this one features an idol of Satan used during their evil ceremony as a prime example. Regarding the female characters, Thordis Brandt is memorable as Tasha, and Sue Bernard stands out as Felicity (people might recall her from “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!” three years earlier). Warrene Ott also makes a mark as young Jessie. There are others, but generally, the director didn’t seem to know how to film women well—something that was handled better in "Mark of the Witch." The conclusion felt a bit silly, but apart from that, this movie exceeded my expectations for such an obscure occult film from the 1960s. It has a running time of 1 hour and 39 minutes and was filmed in Marksville, Louisiana; however, the interior scenes were shot in a Los Angeles studio. GRADE: B-

Source on TMDB